Blenders

Can anyone recommend me a good blender? I'm mainly looking to puree fruits and soups. I currently have a consumer grade kitchenaid immersion blender, but my pureed soups are turning out somewhat lumpy and I want smoother results. I'm open to both stand blenders and immersion blenders, though I prefer the latter; however, if only a stand mixer can get me extra smooth purees then I am willing to get that instead.

bump, please advise

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Vitamix

are they the only way to get smooth purees? are vitamix results achievable with an immersion blender? keep in mind I'm not trying to crush ice or frozen fruit here so vitamix power might not be necessary

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I actually use a Cuisinart immersion blender, and it works well enough we use it at my place of business. (High end steakhouse) its helpful to have a small one when we dobtbwant to use the giant one, actually pictured in OPs post.

I'd go with a Blendtec, over Vitamix.
A refurbished one.

I've only ever used your OP pic and A few small "commercial" ones. If you really wanted an immersion blender I'd go with a Dynamic Junior... could probably get by with a Mini.
I recently replaced the Dynamic with a refurbished Blendtec in my Amazon cart. More versatile. $250.

The cheapest and most effective way to go is a foodmill tbhf. $40. Requires elbow grease.
Or use your crappy KA mixer and them pass it through a tamis using a plastic scraper.

With a bamix you can make warm gazpacho soup to shock and outrage your guests!

I got one on amazon and my main complaint is that it blends too hard, even on low

VITAMIX BITCH

My bamix lasted 3 soups, and then the on\off button died.
-2/10 would not buy again.

This! These are amazing, have tons of power and ice yet to see one blow out.

A commercial counter type blender like vitamix or blendtec. I'd prefer the latter.

>are they the only way to get smooth purees?
Well, not the only way. but certainly the only easy way. You could go back to the old fashioned method of using a scraper to force the food through a fine sieve. Immersion blenders are handy but they do not generate anywhere near as fine a puree as a proper blender does.

Refurbished blendtec is my recommendation.

Vitamix has had several recalls for their jars failing. That's a serious safety issue. Blendtec is just as powerful but doesn't have that problem. Not to mention that you can get different size jars for the Blendtec which you cannot for the Vitamix.

When (if?) you add your thickener to your soups like flour or cornstarch you do dilute it in some cold water before adding it to the hot liquid base right? If you don't that's one way to get lumps right there.

Yeah, but he's clearly talking about PUREES not soups thickened with starch.

A proper countertop blender will chop the veggies into much finer pieces than an immersion blender well, thus is makes a smoother puree.

Waring Commercial Immersion Blender runs about 99 bucks right now. Saw one at 'strom the other day when I was ordering some gloves.

how does waring compare to dynamic/robot coupe?

I'm and I would never buy another one. They are the Radio Shack version of commercial immersion mixers.
MIGHT be okay for home use.
I've blown through 2 of the RC MP450 units in 10 years, but it gets used numerous times throughout the day.
Dynamics seem to be just fine for moderate use, industrially.
The Waring that I bought to alleviate a bit of the pressure off the MP450 died in less than a week, and it's replacement lasted about as long.

But for reals... food mill or tamis is the cheapest (and arguably more effective) route.

PS
a food mill or tamis will filter out tomato/pepper seeds and skins.

thanks for all your input. my only concern with the food mill is how easy is it to use? could I use it to puree a gallon or two of soup at once? how quickly would I be able to get this done with a food mill?

That plus passing it through a chinois

Food mill.
30 minutes, tops.
Amazing mashed potatoes.
You can't get the same results with a standing mixer or blender. Close, but not the same.
If you love cooking, then the amount of time needed to push it through a food mill won't matter. Skins and seeds of fruits and vegetables (which can be bitter) get filtered out.
A smaller cash sink as well. I'd give it a shot if I were you.
A chinois is great. It's a conical shaped tamis.